West Africa - Ebola Outbreak Fact Sheet #31, Fiscal Year (FY) 2015

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New EVD cases continue decreasing in Guinea and Sierra Leone, but at slower rate

Government of Guinea (GoG) authorities and EVD response actors launch a four-day EVD detection and prevention campaign in Coyah Prefecture

WHO reports first confirmed EVD case in Sierra Leone’s Koinadugu District since mid-March

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

From April 13–19, Guinea and Sierra Leone reported 33 confirmed EVD cases, according to WHO. However, the rate of decline in the number of EVD cases, which had fallen steadily since the beginning of April, has slowed. Stronger community engagement, improved contact tracing, and earlier case identification is required to bring the total number of EVD cases to zero, WHO reports.

Despite a third consecutive week of less than 50 percent of new confirmed EVD cases appearing on contact lists, WHO reports that surveillance efforts in Guinea show signs of improvement, with an increase in suspected EVD samples tested for the fourth consecutive week. From April 12 to 19, laboratories tested 564 samples, compared to 518 samples tested the previous week.

On April 25, the UN Secretary-General announced that Peter Jan Graaff would succeed Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as the Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER). SRSG Graaff will work closely with the Special Envoy on Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro, and regional governments and other partners to continue combating the EVD outbreak in West Africa.